The message being circulated around social media.(Photo Public Domain)

“Fifty Shades of Grey”, the popular erotic romance novel-turned-film is receiving flack from domestic violence and anti-porn activists before its scheduled worldwide release date.

The “Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan”, the “London Abused Women’s Centre in Ontario, Canada” and “Antipornography.org” are all calling for a boycott of the film. To get their message out, they have turned to social media, including the Facebook page “50 dollars not 50 shades” and the Twitter hashtag, #fiftyshadesisabuse.

“50 dollars not 50 shades” is a women-led campaign that encourages people to boycott the release of the film by asking them to donate the cash to a domestic violence shelter or agency.

The novel, the first in a trilogy, has been dubbed by many as “mommy porn” or “Twilight for grown-ups”. It is most notable for its explicit erotic scenes. The issue that “50 dollars not 50 shades” takes up with the novel is the nature of the sexual acts.

The practice of bondage/discipline dominance/submission, and sadomasochism, commonly known as BDSM, is prevalent in the film.

The campaign goes on to say: “The money you would have spent on movie tickets and babysitter, or movie tickets, popcorn and drinks will go towards serving victims of abusive relationships, like the one glamorised in the 50 Shades series. Hollywood doesn’t need your money; abused women do.”

The page, which was set up less than two weeks ago, has already garnered over 7,000 likes.

Ironically, it is women who make up the vast majority of sales for the novel. The author, EL James, is also female. The “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy has sold well over 100m copies worldwide.

The film is not slated to be released in Egypt, according to its IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) page.